Teenage Time Killers ‘Greatest Hits Vol. 1’ Review: punk-metal supergroup vent infectious anger on long-awaited début.
[rating=3.5]
Supergroup albums always come with massive expectations, but Teenage Time Killers long in the works Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (Rise Records) has built up a huge groundswell of anticipation.
The group’s creative nucleus, Corrosion of Conformity drummer Reed Mullin and My Ruin guitarist Mick Murphy have armed themselves with a dizzying array of 29 hardcore, punk and metal icons including Dave Grohl, Slipknot’s Corey Taylor and Dead Kennedy’s Jello Biafra.
Mullin’s C.O.C. pedigree is telling, as the album draws from that groups diverse scope of sound: punk, thrash and sludge (the album also features Corrosion albums Woody Weatherman, Karl Agell, and Mike Dean).
Crowned By The Light Of The Sun, featuring Clutch vocalist Neil Fallon is a prime example of the latter, with his guttural wail riding atop a sweet simmering stoner riff. Biafra chews the scenery in fine fashion with Ode To Hannity, retrofitting John Cleese’s right-wing bashing poem over a frenetic hardcore onslaught.
Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba channels the Misfits on class-warfare anthem The Barrio, featuring an anthemic, lyrical guitar solo from Bad Religion’s Brian Baker, while Goatsnake howler Pete Stahl prowls the mean streets on the frenetic Plank-walk.
Other highlights includes the lumbering Days of Degradation , featuring Prong’s Tommy Victor and the thrash-tastic The Dead Hand, and Big Money, with Fear’s Lee Ving ragged vocals augmented by Foo Fighters Pat Smear and Samhain’s London May.
Oddly enough, it’s the high-profile contributions that fall a bit flat: Egobomb featuring Corey Taylor lacks sufficient bite, and Hung Out To Dry, featuring Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe feels too constrained. Likewise, those looking for a major Grohl presence may feel disappointed that his contributions is restricted to bass duties on 11 tracks.
But with 24 songs that never pass the 3-minute mark, Greatest Hits Vol. 1 never overstays its welcome. The barrage of sneering politically charged anthems performed by musicians who had a blast playing together is infectious.
It’s the perfect sampler of misanthropic rage capable of bringing out the agitated adolescent still living within even the most domesticated middle-aged Gen Xer. Bring on Vol. 2 please.
You can stream ‘Greatest Hits Vol. 1’ via the NYT before its official release on July 31st, and you can pre-order via iTunes and Amazon below.
